Collapsible spindle assembly for toilet tissue rolls and the like

ABSTRACT

Mounting assemblies for toilet tissue rolls and the like comprised of tapered annular-shaped rims force-fittingly received within the hollow cylindrical core of a toilet tissue roll. A centrally located trunion portion is joined to the aforesaid rim by radially aligned spanning ribs having a width, thickness, geometry, and being of a plastic material which characteristics cooperate to provide flexibility of the mounting assembly to enable it to collapse into the core interior and, due to the &#34;plastic memory&#34; of the support ribs, cause the assembly to resume its normal expanded state upon the removal of the forces responsible for collapsing thereof, the trunions being adapted to be substantially telescopingly received within cooperating opening provided in a conventional receptacle, a pair of such assemblies cooperatively providing a &#34;disposable spindle&#34;.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The most widespread assembly presently in use for mounting toilet tissuerolls typically is comprised of a stationary fixture or bracketpermanently affixed to a wall or other support, said receptacle having apair of outwardly-projecting usually parallel arms each provided with anopening, said openings being axially aligned. The tissue roll istypically comprised of a cylindrical paper or cardboard core, having thetissue wrapped therearound in a spiral fashion. A spindle membertypically comprised of a pair of elongated hollow cylindrical members,one of which is telescopingly received within the other member. A springor other suitable biasing means is usually mounted within the hollowinterior of the spindle to bias the telescoping members so that they areurged to move apart from one another, the spring member havingsufficient resilience to permit contraction or collapsing of the twoelements. The free ends of the cylindrical elements have tips whosereduced diameters adapt them for entry into an associated one of theaforesaid openings provided in the toilet tissue receptacle. Shouldersare usually provided inwardly from the tips so as to limit the amount ofentry of the tips into the aforesaid receptacle openings.

Mounting of a bathroom tissue roll is typically accomplished in thefollowing manner:

The bathroom tissue roll is usually wrapped within a paper cover, whichis removed. The spindle is removed from the receptacle, which nowcontains an exhausted roll, or which is otherwise empty. The spindle isinserted through the hollow interior of the core of the new toilettissue roll and the roll is positioned for entry into the receptacle andbetween the aforesaid arms. The roll and the spindle are aligned in theregion between the receptacle arms in a skewed manner to cause one tipof the spindle to be entered into the opening of the associatedreceptacle arms. Thereafter, the opposite tip of the spindle istypically pressed towards the said one tip by the operator's fingers,causing the cylindrical element to collapse in a telescoping fashion andfor the purpose of reducing the overall length of the spindle in orderthat it might be pressed in between the aforesaid arms of thereceptacle.

The latter tip is then released after being positioned immediately overthe opening in the remaining arm, at which time the resilience of thebiasing member urges the cylindrical members apart to snappingly urgethe spindle into the operative position. The outer diameter of thespindle is typically significantly smaller than the inner diameter ofthe hollow core, allowing the roll to be freely rotated about thespindle in order to facilitate the dispensing of the toilet tissue.

Although not explained above in detail, the steps described herein aresubstantially reversed for the purpose of removing the toilet tissuecore once the paper roll is exhausted.

As can be seen from the above description, the assembly requires aspindle of a particular design. It further requires removal andinsertion thereof from the exhausted and new rolls respectively, inorder to properly mount the fresh paper roll.

Another type of mounting which eliminates the need for a spindle istypically comprised of a mounting bracket in which one or both of thearms mentioned hereinabove are biased inwardly towards one another, andthe manner of mounting a new roll is comprised of the steps of forcingthe arms apart a distance sufficient to enter the roll therebetween,aligning the both ends of the hollow core with a fresh paper rollbetween the ends of the arms, each of which are provided withinwardly-directed projections, and then releasing the arms in order tohold the toilet tissue roll. One of the disadvantages of thisarrangement resides in the fact that the inwardly-directed projectionsprovided at the ends of the arms are usually of diameters necessitatingtheir use with tissue rolls having hollow cores of the appropriatediameter, it being noted that hollow cores of various manufacturers donot have the same diameter, but in fact vary in their internaldiameters. In addition, the biasing force usually urges the arms intoengagement with the sides of the roll, making it difficult to rotate theroll about the projections for the purpose of dispensing paper.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is characterized by providing a novel assemblywhich functions as a complete and inexpensive substitute for theconventional spindle, to totally eliminate the need for the spindle anddismounting and mounting operations associated therewith.

The present invention is comprised of a lightweight, thin one-pieceplastic member having an annular-shaped rim portion and an internallytruncated conical-shaped trunion portion, which portions are joined toone another by a plurality of intermediate spanning ribs such that theplastic material from which the ribs are formed together with thethickness and geometry of the ribs serve to make the one-piece plasticmember totally collapsible and yet provide the ribs with a "plasticmemory" which enables the one-piece assembly to resume its normaluncollapsed condition upon the removal of the collapsing forces.

A pair of the aforesaid one-piece members are force-fittingly receivedwithin an associated end of a toilet tissue hollow core. The flexibilityof the ribs enables the mounting element to collapse so as to be totallyreceived within the associated hollow core opening so that the toilettissue roll may be packaged in the conventional manner and the packagewill be of no greater outer dimensions as a result of insertion of themounting members.

The one-piece members of the present invention are of a design whichgreatly facilitates its manufacture. For example, the design lendsitself nicely to the manufacture of the one-piece members for example,either through a vacuum forming or an injection molding operation.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a pairof novel lightweight disposable one-piece members and a receptacletherefore which are adapted to cooperate with conventional toilet tissuerolls to facilitate their mounting in order to rollably mount thebathroom tissue facilitating dispensing thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pair of novelone-piece mounting members of a disposable type and usable withconventional toilet tissue rolls and receptacles therefore, said membersbeing received within the hollow core of the roll and being totallycollapsible into the interior of the core to facilitate packaging of themounting members together with the roll, without in any way changing thenature or size of the conventional packages, while at the same timeeliminating the need for conventional spindles while providing thefunctions normally provided by conventional spindles.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novelone-piece member of the character described in the above mentionedobjects wherein said member is formed of a suitable plastic materialhaving a plastic memory and being of a thickness to enable collapsing ofthe element under a substantially light compressive force while theplastic memory is adapted to enable the mounting members to assume theiruncollapsed state upon removal or release of the collapsing forces.

The above as well as other objects of the present invention will becomeapparent when reading the accompanying description and drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1a shows a top plan view of a bathroom tissue roll mounting memberdesigned in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 1b shows a elevational view, partially sectionalized, of the memberof FIG. 1a.

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the manner in which the members aremounted within the hollow core of a toilet tissue roll.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Referring initially to FIGS. 1a and 1b, there is shown therein a thin,lightweight, disposable one-piece mounting member designed in accordancewith the principles of the present invention, and provided for thepurpose of facilitating the mounting of bathroom tissue rolls whiletotally eliminating the need for conventional spindle assemblies. Member10 is comprised of a trunion portion 11 and a rim portion 17cooperatively joined and associated with one another by means ofintermediate ribs 15, which are integrally joined to the trunion 11 andrim 17, and which function to facilitate both collapsing and resumptionof the normal uncollapsed state, as will be described hereinbelow.

The rim portion is provided with a truncated conical surface 18 having aslight taper and having at its right-hand free end a radiallyoutwardly-directed flange which serves to limit the depth of insertionof member 10 within the core of a bathroom tissue roll, as will be morecompletely described herein below.

The opposite end of rim portion 18 is integrally joined with acircular-shaped flange 20 directed radially inward from rim 18.

The innermost portion of flange 20 is provided with a truncatedspherical portion 21 integrally joined to the radially inward end offlange 20, and having portions thereof joined to the spanning ribs 15.

The trunion member 11 comprises a hollow truncated conical-shapedportion whose smaller diameter end terminates in a closed top portion 13integrally joined to portion 12.

The larger diameter end has portions thereof integrally joined to thespanning ribs 15, as shown best in FIG. 1b. It should be understood thatthe trunion portion is hollow, as best shown in the sectionalizedportion of FIG. 1b. The truncated hemispherical portion 21, togetherwith spanning ribs 15 form the openings 22, 23, which are truncated,circular-shaped openings as shown best in the plan view of FIG. 1a. FIG.2 shows the manner in which the bathroom tissue mounting members areutilized and comprises a bathroom tissue roll 25 comprised of a hollowcylindrical core 26 typically formed of a stiff paper or cardboard. Thetoilet tissue 27 is typically a soft paper roll of indeterminate lengthdefining individual sheets by perforations provided at spaced parallelintervals along the roll, the paper roll being wound in spiral fashion,forming composite assembly 25.

A pair of mounting members 10 and 10' are inserted into the core suchthat the rims 18 and 18' force-fittingly engage the inner diameter ofthe core and are slightly compressed, causing the slight taper as shownin FIG. 1b to disappear, whereby the rims 18 and 18' are arrangedparallel to the engaging surfaces of the hollow core 26. The slighttaper of rim 18 enhances the force-fit between the rim and the core 26.

Due to the nature of the plastic material, and the thickness of themounting members, as well as their geometry, the rib members are easilycapable of collapsing to the extent shown by the left-hand mountingmember 10 of FIG. 2 wherein the entire trunion portion is adapted to bepositioned well within the left-hand end 26a of hollow core 26. As canclearly be seen from FIG. 2, the outwardly directed flanges 19 and 19'serve to limit the depth to which the mounting members 10, 10' may beinserted within the hollow core. The collapsing of the members, forexample, as shown by the left-hand member 10 of FIG. 2, may beaccomplished during normal packaging, wherein the present thinlightweight paper wrapper placed around such bathroom tissue rolls ismore than sufficient to maintain the mounting units in the collapsedposition, the portion which collapses actually bends, so as to collapsethe trunion member toward the rim portion. The spanning ribs have athickness, geometry, and are made of a plastic material such as, forexample, polypropylene, which is adapted to enable the element to bereadily collapsed upon packaging and, due to the "plastic memory" of thematerial, the spanning ribs will assume their natural unbent state, i.e.the mounting member 10 will assume its uncollapsed state, so as to causethe trunion portion 11 to project outwardly beyond the edge, for examplethe edge 26b of hollow core 26.

The manner of mounting a toilet tissue roll utilizing the mountingmembers of the present invention is substantially similar to thattechnique employed in conventional methods, wherein the roll includingthe mounting members is oriented in skewed fashion relative to thetoilet tissue roll receptacle arms so as to place one of the trunionmembers, for example, the trunion member 11' of FIG. 2 in the opening31a provided in an arm 31 of a receptacle.

The other trunion member is pressed in lightly by one or more fingers,and the roll is then moved in to a substantially aligned position,preferably so that the center line 32 of the mounting members is coaxialwith the center line of the receptacle openings. Upon reaching thisposition, the fingers are released from the collapsed trunion member andits "plastic memory" causes it to move outwardly from the positionoccupied by the left-hand mounting member 10 of FIG. 2 to the positionof the right-hand member 10' of FIG. 2 and snap into the associatedreceptacle arm opening, whereby both trunion portions are mounted withinappropriate openings, it being understood that an arm substantiallyidentical to arm 31 is provided adjacent the left-hand side of roll 26and is provided with a hole substantially identical to hole 31a forreceiving trunion portion 11. Both elements 10 and 10' cooperativelyfunction in the same manner as a conventional spindle, enabling the rollto be rotated about center line 32 in order to dispense the toilettissue.

The simplicity of design of the mounting members is such as to readilylend themselves to high-speed mass production manufacturing, wherein themembers may be produced through a vacuum forming or injection moldingoperation, for example.

The mounting members may be formed of any suitable plastic and in onepreferred embodiment the mounting members are formed of polypropyleneand have a substantially uniform thickness of the order of 0.03".

Whereas the preferred embodiment of the present invention teaches thetrunion as being integrally joined to the rim portion by means of a pairof spanning ribs aligned along one diameter of the mounting member, itshould be understood that more than two ribs may be employed, andfurther that the ribs need not be diametrically aligned but can bealigned at equi-spaced angles. For example, if 3 such spanning ribs wereemployed, the ribs may be arranged at 120° intervals about the trunionportion. Obviously if 4 ribs are utilized, they may be arranged atequi-spaced 90° intervals, and so forth. Also, the trunion portion neednot have a closed end 13.

It can be seen from the above description that the present inventionprovides a novel lightweight, thin, inexpensive, and hence, disposabletype of mounting means for toilet tissue and the like, wherein the needfor a conventional spindle is eliminated and the substitute therefore isof nominal expense at most. The utilization of the mounting means of thepresent invention is, in fact, even safer and easier to use thanconventional spindles especially by children, since the mounting meanscome already inserted into the toilet tissue roll, whereas conventionalspindles must first be removed from the exhausted roll and inserted intothe new roll before mounting thereof. Removal of exhausted rollsrequires no particular care since the core and mounting members beingremoved are discarded.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with apreferred embodiment thereof, many variations and modifications will nowbecome apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore,that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosureherein, but only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. Mounting means for toilet tissue rolls and thelike, said rolls being typically comprised of a hollowcylindrical-shaped core having an elongated toilet tissue sheet ofindeterminate length wound therearound, said mounting means being a pairof members each comprised of:a single thin light-weight one-piece membercomprised of a rim portion and a trunion portion; said rim portionhaving an outwardly-directed flange integrally joined at one end thereofand having an inwardly-directed continuous flange integrally joined atthe opposite end thereof; said trunion portion being comprised of ahollow truncated conical-shaped shell, the narrow end thereof beingremote from said rim portion, and the wider end thereof being closer tosaid rim portion; at least first and second spanning ribs, each of saidribs having a first end integrally joined to said inwardly directedflange having opposite ends integrally joined to the wider end of saidtrunion portion; said one-piece member being made of a suitableresilient plastic material, the thickness of said spanning ribs beingselected so as to enable the spanning ribs to bend in order to permitthe trunion portion to collapse towards said rim portion and beingfurther adapted due to the inherent resilience of the material toenable, by virtue of the plastic memory of the material, to assume itsnatural condition, whereby the trunion portion is moved away from therim portion as the spanning ribs assume their natural unbent condition.2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said mounting members areforce-fittingly inserted into each open end of said hollow core wherebysaid outwardly directed flange serves to limit the depth of insertion ofsaid mounting means into said hollow core.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein said rim has a slight taper so that its edge integrally joinedto the outwardly directed flange is of a slightly greater diameter thanits edge integrally joined to the inwardly-directed flange to therebyenhance the force-fitting arrangement between said rim and said hollowcore.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mounting means arepreferably formed from a polypropylene material through a vacuum formingoperation.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mounting means isformed of a polypropylene material through an injection moldingoperation.
 6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the thickness of saidmounting means is of the order of 0.030±0.10 inches.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the narrow diameter end of said trunion portion isprovided with a flat surface portion integrally joined to said narrowdiameter and whereby said hollow truncated conical portion and said endsurface form a closed trunion tip portion.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the thickness and plastic material are selected so as to enablebending of the spanning ribs to totally collapse the trunion portioninto the internal portion of the hollow core to facilitate storagethereof when the paper roll is packaged within a cover sheet.